Machine-tool organization



June 25l 1929- E. J. KEARNEY ET AL 1,718,562

MACHINE TOOL ORGANIZATION Filed Jan. 18, 1926 Patented June 25, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. KEAR-NEY, OF WAUWATOSA, AND JOSEPH B. ARMITA'GQE, OF MILWAUKE,WISCONSIN, ASSIGNORS TO KEARNEY & TRECKER CORPORATION, OF WEST ALLIS,WISCONSINA A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

MACHINE-TOOL ORGANIZATION.

Application med January 1s, 192s. 'seran No. s2,o6e.`

This invention relates to a machine tool organization and particularlyto an improved structure for housing and supporting a rotatable spindleand its drive mechanism.

A main purpose is to provide a drivmg mechanism completely housed withinthe main structure of the machine, together with simplified lubricatingdevices therefor.

Another purpose is generally to simplify and improve the construction,arrangement and operation of a machine tool, and to promote the safetyof the operator.

Other purposes will be apparent from the accompanying drawings,description and claims.

In the drawings, like reference characters are used to denote the sameparts in the di'erent Views, of which Fig. 1 is a'left side elevation ofa milling machine of the knee and column type, em-

bodying the invention. A portion of the view is shown as a section takenalong line 1-1 of Fig. 2, and some of the well known parts of a completemillingmachine have been omitted.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same machine.

A main Support or column 1 rotatably supports a tool spindle 2 journaledin a. front wall 3 and a rear wall 4 with the spindle ends projectingoutside these walls for various purposes. A plurality of overarms 5 'and6 are likewise supported by the column and are vslidably mounted to beshoved forward, if required for supporting the ends of a tool arbor andfor other reasons, or to be shoved to the rear when notrequired so as tobe out of the Way of the operator. A knee or Work support 7 isvertically slidable on front wall 3. Other relatively movable worksupports, such as a saddle and a table are ordinarily supported by theknee but the construction of such supports being well known they are notshown in the drawings. Combinedvwith the Afront and rear walls 3 and 4are left and right side walls 8 and 9, also a bottom wall l10 and a topwall 11 to provide a hollow box-like form for the column. A horizontalrib or wall 12 in combination with other wall portions form a chamber 13in the base of the column which' chamber is intended to hold cuttingHuid used to cool cutters and work or for similar purposes. Motor 14 isremovably fixed on the top of rib 12. y

A chamber 15 is formed in an upperirpor- 'paratively small solidobjects. and form of openings 19a prevents oil or other.

portions 22h.

tion of the structure by portions of front, rear, top and right and lefthand walls and by a rib or wall 16 which extends from one to the otherof the side walls and is spaced suiiiciently distant from the horizontalwall 12 to provide suicient vertical space for a motor 14.

Portions of various of the Walls described above together with asubstantially vertical` rib or wall 17 form a chamber generally denotedby the numeral 18, within which motor 14 is housed, the chamber havingan opening to the rear for removal of the motor, which is normallyclosed by a removable cover 19 which is held in place by suitable screwsor may be hinged. The wall 17 is spaced sufficiently far from the frontwall 3 to form, together with a bottom wall 20 and portions of the frontand side walls, a lubricant chamber 2O communicating with the upperchamber 15, and adapted to house a portion of the mechanism as will bedescribed.

Cover 19 has a series of openings 19, serving to permit a large volumeof air to pass into chamber 18 while excluding even com- The locationfluid which might run down the rear wall 4 from passing into the chamber18.v

An opening 21 in chamber 18 is covered with a removable plate 22 havinga series of openings 22EL formed by downward slanting These openings areabove the level of the openings 19 and serve to discharge air which hasbeen drawn in at lower o penings 19a and heated throughl the operatlonof motor 14. A continuous circulation of air to ventilato and coolv themotor is thus assured.

Spindle 2 is driven from motor 14 by the following transmissionmechanism. Apinion 23 is keyed to motor shaft 24 and projects into the'chamber 20. The shank portion' 23l is provided with annular grooves 23"which serve to prevent lubricant from moving along the shank portion,suc-h lubricant- 'being thrown off or dripping from the hi hv portionsof the grooves, into a circular c amber or groove 25' in a bushing 25,surrounding the shank 23, and from ,which lubricant is returned to thechamber 20 by the means of an opening 25". Meshed with the vpinion 23 isintermediate gear 26 fixed on short shaft 27,

the res ective ends of which are journaled in a bushing 28 fixed in thewall 17, and in the front Wall 3. Shaft 27 passes through and drives alubricant pump 29 which is tiXed on front wall 3, and which may be apump of the enclosed gear type or of any other suitable type. A clutchmember 30 is provided with a shank 30u rotatably su pported in frontWall 3. An axial bore of sleeve 30a forms a bearing for the one end of ashaft 31, the other end of the shaft being journaled in a rib 31b of thecolumn 1. A clutch member 32 is slidably keyed to shaft 31 and has ashank or extension 32b provided With an annular groove 32a. A hand lever33 is fixed to the outer end of a short shaft 34, pivoted in a suitablebcaringin the Wall 8. A fork 36 is litixed to inner end of shaft 34 andcarries pivoted shoes 36a engaging with the annular groove 32a. By themechanism described the clutch member 32 may be shifted by the movementof hand lever 33 in the one or the other direction to engage ordisengage the complementary friction surfaces of the members 30 and 32whereby shaft 31 may be engaged or disengaged from motor 14. A pinion31a is fixed on or integral with shaft 31 and meshes with a gear 37keyed to a shaft 38 rotatably su ported from column 1.

haft 38 may drive a shaft 45 rotatably supported from column 1, througha speed change mechanism consisting of gears 39, 40, 41, slidably keyedon shaft 38 and-respectively engageable one at a time with the gears 42,43, 44 fixed on shaft 45. Also iiXed on shaft 45 is a pinion 46 meshingWith gear 47 iixed on spindle 2. The several gear pairs 39 and 42,'

40 and 43, 41 and 44, are of diierent ratio and as the gears 39, 40, 41are shifted to engage with the complementary gears, the speed of shaft45 and of spindle 2 is correspondingly changed. Gears 39, 40 and 41 arefixed-together to be shifted ysimultaneously by the means of a handlever 48, Fig. 2, xed on the outer end of a short .shaft 49 pivoted inWall 8 and having fixed on vits inner end a lever 5 0 connected to movethe gear set by means of fork 51 engaging the sides of gear 40 andpivoted in lever 50.

The pump 29 is driven Whenever any p0r-A tion of the machine isoperated. The chamber 20 is suppliedwith lubricant into which a suctionpipe 52 dips, and is connected to the suction part of the pump. A pipe53, connected With the discharge part of the pump elevates the.lubricant to an'upper level ot' the chamber 15 and there communicateswith a pipe or header 54 provided with openings 54a adapted to spray thelubricant overthe interior of the Walls ochamber 15 and over the gearingcontained therein, the motion of the gears assisting together With ltheopenings 54u to more or, less completely till the chambers 15 and 2Owith flying drops of lubricant. Each of the various ybearings associatedwith the Walls of both the chambers are provided with open pocketsadapted to receive some of the dying drops of lubricant, either directlyor as they flow down the sides of the Walls, one of the pockets beingshown at 55. Each of the pockets communicates With its bearing by meansof a suitable hole as shown at 56 for the pocket 55.

` Substantially all of the lubricant elevated from the reservoir inchamber 20, after passing through the chamber 15, eventually returns tothe reservoir to be again elevated,

'thus providing a continuous circulation ot" lubricant between thereservoir and each ot the moving parts of the transmission mechanism.

Any lubricant which may enter the motor chamber 18- in spite ofprecautions described above will collect on the lower wall 12 and passthrough opening 61 into the coolant chamber 13 to miX with the iiuidtherein where it will do no harm. It will be apparent that the quantityof such lubricant will be very small.

The above taken in connection Awith the drawings clearly describes apreferred form of the invention for which a patent is desired and forwhich a variety of other but equivalent forms may be constructed in thelight of this disclosure. Patent protection is desired for each of thevarious forms of the invention within the spirit and scope of theaccompanying claims.

WVe claim:

1. In a machine tool the combination of a column structure havingupstanding side and end walls cooperating with other walls to form anupper chamber, a motor chamber formed in part by some ot said walls at alower level of said structure and vsubstantially underneath said upperchamber, a motor enclosed Within said motor chamber, speed changegearing enclosed Within said upper chamber, a transmission trainconnecting said speed change gearing to be driven from said motor. alubricant reservoir located in a lower level of said structure, a pump,a lubricant channel leading` from said reservoir to an upper level ofsaid structure and passing through said pump, a header adapted todistribute lubricant from said channel to said speed change gearing anda closed passage for the return of lubricant to said reservoir, asubstantial portion of the Walls of said motor chamber forming Wallportions ot said closed passage.

2. In a milling machine the combination ot "a column structure havingupstanding side and end Walls cooperating with other walls to form anupper chamber, a spindle journaled in said walls to pass through saidchamber and having projecting end portions, a speed change mechanismenclosed within said chamber and connected with said spindle, a motorchamber vformed in part by some of said Walls at a lower level of saidstructure and substantially underneath said upper chamlll) ber, a motorhoused within said motor chamthe means of said pum and a closed chanber,a transmission train connecting said nel for the return of lubricant tosaid reser- 10 motor and said speed change mechanism, a voir from saidheader, Wall portions of said lubricant reservoir, apump, aheaderforsupupper chamber and of said motor chamber 5 ply of lubricant to saidspeed change mechbeing in heat transferring contact with said anism andspindle, a lubricant channel conlubricant. necting said header to besupplied with lubri- EDWARD J. KEARNEY. cant under pressure from saidreservoir `by JOSEPH B. ARMITAGE.

